


Violence Is Not The Answer

by Momma_Time



Series: Heroes Of Bullshit [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: A LOT of Angst, But mostly angst, Jamilton - Freeform, M/M, a little fluff, just a smidge, mild violence and blood and burns, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 15:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9330452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momma_Time/pseuds/Momma_Time
Summary: Soooo ijustwanttobecontent on tumblr inspired this one. The prompt was this:Alternative Au where Hamilton and Jefferson are two opposing heroes who don’t agree with each other’s method of justice (or just hero villain) and are always at each other’s throats but don’t know that they actually know each outside of super work: they’re roommates and neither knows the other is their rival and go through hoops hiding their secret identities from the otherFormally Father_Time





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thomas is Dr. Mac. Aka Dr. Mac and Cheese. I got the idea for his abilities from Gambit.  
> Alex's superhero name lacks imagination.  
> I was half asleep when I wrote this thing so, sorry for errors and things.

It was a game of sorts, but they didn't know that they were playing it with each other.

Alex would show up in the middle of the night, looking exhausted and dropping his bag at the door. Thomas would be in the shower when he walked in, and the man looked just as tired as Alex. They'd both ask what was wrong. Alex would say that he'd been writing an essay in the library all day and Thomas would say that he'd had a rough day at work and, sometimes, he'd say that he had a panic attack. They'd worry about the other a little, but otherwise, they wouldn't think anything of it.

They lived together and were happy with the arrangement. And if they toyed with the idea of dating a few times, the other didn't have to know. They sometimes caught the other watching them, but it was always brushed off. The staring and heated glances didn't stop and they'd nearly made out at a party once before John cockblocked them by drunkenly kissing Alex before Thomas could close the distance. Things had been a little awkward after that, but they went back to their usual routine; they pretended that nothing almost happened.

But, they didn't have a clue as to the truth of their exhaustion and injuries, or they would have paid more attention.

Alex was a superhero, a sort of Storm minus the mutant school and high status back in his hometown. Thomas was a supervillain and had the shit ton of money. Alex's suit was handmade with what he could scrounge up, but it didn't do anything more than disguise his identity. Thomas's suit (a literal suit designed to mimic some bygone era, the pretentious asshole) was also handmade with only the best materials and pieces to protect him from whatever weapons someone used against him. Alex found himself going home with a bruised rib and a sprained wrist (a wrist brace for "carpal tunnel" was useful). Thomas came out with hardly a scratch.

There was the problem; they didn't know that they were the other's enemy.

Alex was an elemental, could use the elements with an ease that came from a lifetime of practice.  
Thomas had control of energy and could charge objects and use them as explosive projectiles. This was a big reason Alex came out of their fights with a few bruises. You try having exploding trash bins thrown at you while your enemy is simply yawning as he puts zero effort into it.

He'd been burned a few times, bad enough that it put him out of commission for a while. Hiding the extensive second-degree burns on his arm was painful when he covered it with a loose jacket. He couldn't wrap the burns too tightly and the creams he used to heal and keep out infection had to be water based so that they wouldn't make things worse. Hey, just because he could use fire didn't mean that he couldn't be harmed by it. If it was a burning building, he could dampen the intensity, but if it was an explosion, he couldn't do much to protect himself in an instant. The one time Thomas had accidentally bumped him after, Alex thought he was going to burst into tears or black out from the pain. Thomas had freaked out and caught a glimpse of the bandages; he demanded to know what happened.

Alex, of course, lied. "Oh, I was trying to bake something and burned myself on the stove. It just...yeah." He was a terrible cook, so it wasn't too much of a stretch.

"You're an idiot, Hamilton." Thomas had rolled his eyes fondly and then offered to help him do a better job of taking care of it.

Thomas had a black eye once; his excuse had been that he got into a bar fight. Thomas rarely went to bars, and when he did, he was never drunk, and James was usually with him. Alex thought it was odd, but didn't question it.

When they were not your average Joes, they fought like cats and dogs. Element and Dr. Mac were the bitterest of enemies. No other oil and water relationship could hold a candle to theirs. They never fought to kill, usually, but Dr. Mac was more likely to wound Element enough that Element would be out up to a week or more to recover from the blows. Element fought for justice, but he didn't believe justice needed to be delivered ruthlessly. Another time they took it too far, Dr. Mac had energized a spoon from a cafe nearby and thrown it at Element. The spoon had almost embedded itself in Element's chest, at his sternum. It wasn't deep, and certainly wasn't fatal, but it freaked them both out enough to call it a night. The weight of the spoon and gravity had caused it to fall, leaving only a gash in the center of his chest. So, that was a relief.

It hurt like hell and bled like a stuck pig, but Element recovered enough to escape and treat the wound. He was staggering the whole way home; he didn't dare try to fly like this. When he got home, he had been relieved to see that Thomas wasn't home from work yet and collapsed in the bathroom with the first aid kit in his hand. Element and Dr. Mac did not show themselves for several weeks after that.

Shit hit the fan when Element was returning home after a fight with Dr. Mac and found his enemy trying to get into his apartment by the fire escape. Element panicked and chased after him, and it wasn't until Element jumped into the window, shouting Thomas's name, that he realized that the villain entered Thomas's bedroom. The pair stared at one another, Dr. Mac with pure horror as he had started to undress, and Element in shock at seeing the villain breaking into his home. Now Dr. Mac knew that Element cared about someone who lived here but...

It took him a second to piece it together, but when he did, he had to set a hand on the nightstand to steady himself.

Thomas had hardly removed his coat and started on his shirt before Element had come bursting in. Thomas didn't realize that Element would walk in on him, would find out who he was, but he screamed Thomas's name and--oh.

He knew who Element was now.

With a flirtacious smirk, the man grabbed his cane and stalked his enemy.

"So, you know who I am now, but I don't know who you are." He loomed over Element and used his cane to tip Element's face up by his chin. Thomas purred, "That seems unfair, don't you think? But aw, it's sweet that you care about me." When Element said nothing, he continued. "You should tread carefully for the sake of my roommate. He's the one in danger here, not you." He knew damn well who Element was, though.

Alex didn't know how to respond to that. He could take care of himself just fine, thank you very much. But he and Thomas were friends. Dr. Mac was evil, sure, but Alex didn't think he'd actually hurt Roommate Alex.

"You wouldn't." It was a challenge, a weak one to test the waters of where he and Thomas stood as roommates.

"What makes you think I wouldn't?"

"Even you're not evil enough to do something like that." One last test. One last hope that he could find something that showed him that he could trust Thomas not to hurt him.

Thomas snorted, "I'm a villain, Element. I am not a good guy, nor will I ever be. I am a man who gets what he wants, when he wants it, in any way possible."

He didn't want to believe that. After the evenings spent working on homework or watching X-Files or something stupid like Celebrity Chef, and the too-long-to-be-platonic staring, Thomas couldn't possibly want to do something like that. He felt betrayed.

"Then why stay with him?"

"It's a good cover. I mean, I'm already in school and while I can afford better, it'd be easier to hide as a normal, broke-ass college student than in the luxury I deserve." Thomas gave a nudge with the cane to jerk Element's head back a bit before withdrawing it and making his way to the dresser to finish changing.

Alex had enough of that. "I think you're talking out of your ass."

Thomas raised his hands and shot spikes of energy at Alex. The projectiles stopped just short of skewering him. "You have no proof of that, Hamilton." There it was. Now Alex knew that Thomas had figured it out.

He didn't think he'd survive that attack, tensing as he knew he couldn't form a barrier in time to protect himself. When the deadly shards of energy hadn't sliced through him, Alex opened his eyes slowly to peer at Thomas. It took him a few moments to find his voice again; when all else failed, he had his words. It had a 50% chance of working and a 50% chance of getting him killed.

"Then why fret over me when I lied about the burns? Why offer to ice my wrist when I said my carpal tunnel was flaring up? Why not finish me then? That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't care." They didn't dare look away from one another as Thomas glared and Alex tore off his mask and threw back the hood.

"I'll move out first thing in the morning, Thomas," Alex said after a tense silence. He wouldn't get an answer out of Thomas. Now that they knew who the other was, Alex needed to get the hell out of there to save his neck and then save his--their--friends.

When the spikes disappeared, Alex took that as his cue to get out of Thomas's room. He didn't make it to the door before the doorknob glowed pink and Alex heard it lock. Shit. He whirled around, expecting an attack, only for Thomas to pounce him and pin him to the door. Alex would deny it until the cows came home that he let out a shrill yelp. For a split second, Alex thought that Thomas was attacking him and so he grabbed the wrists to the hands holding him against the door and heating them in a warning. It'd take nothing to roast Thomas's hands.

"You're a damn idiot." The grip on his shoulders tightened, and the heat radiating from Alex's hands increased in response.

He was afraid to speak anything over a murmur. If he was too loud, would that set Thomas off? Would the man feel threatened? "Why?"

"You don't have a shred of protection out there, and yet you fight me like you're invincible and can't be touched. I knew Element was a cocky idiot for not having anything of use to keep him safe from a bullet or whatever but it makes so much sense now." The grip tightened again but then loosened. Neither said anything.

Alex could feel his heart racing, panic slowly setting in. Paranoia screamed that he needed to escape, that there were red flags everywhere and alarm bells and run like hell to get to safety. He felt frozen to the spot in fear and shock and a silent prayer that this wouldn't be the end. Alex was never very good at running away. "So I'm exposed, now what?"

"If you're going to a gun fight, don't go in there with a knife."

"I don't make enough for fancy bullet and fire proof clothes! You know that."

"Then why are you out there at all? You could have gotten yourself killed! You almost have several times, and it would have been because you went out there, guns blazing, without a shred of armor on because you don't think before you act." Thomas's voice was raising.

Alex growled. Why didn't Thomas get it? He didn't have a choice. "Because I can't stand by, knowing I could do something to help! I have the ability to help, and I won't sit and watch people get hurt because it could be dangerous. Armor or no, it would still be dangerous. You can't yell at me for something that could still happen, even with the right gear."

"Yes, I can! Hamilton, I could have killed you out there." The fire in Thomas's eyes was doused at the revelation; genuine fear and regret put it out. His voice broke when he only just got out, "Alexander, I could have killed you and not even known it until you were gone."

All of the anger from their fight fled from them, and they both sank to the floor. Thomas immediately embraced Alex, clinging to him like he'd disappear if Thomas didn't hang on tightly. He buried his face in Alex's neck, and Alex could feel Thomas shaking and the hot tears slipping from Thomas's eyelashes and onto Alex's skin.

"I could have lost you, Alexander. I could have lost you, and you'd never be in my life again, and I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you." Sobs had him shaking harder, and Alex managed to drag himself from his own terrible revelation to return the embrace. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Alexander. I've hurt you so many times...all of those times you were tired or in pain. I did that. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, please forgive me."

They'd nearly done the other in so many times...

Alex squeezed Thomas tightly and then gently pushed him away, raising his hands to cradle Thomas's face. His thumbs carefully caught every tear as Alex leaned in to press his forehead against Thomas's. He felt his own eyes beginning to burn and it wasn't long until he was crying with him. This petty fight of theirs in the last year and a half could have ruined everything for them.

"I forgive you, Thomas. I'm sorry."

Thomas, knowing he was forgiven, suffered a fresh wave of tears and Alex found himself being kissed by his mortal enemy, his friend, and his roommate. Both whispered apologies between each one and they clung to one another as tightly as they could.

When they both calmed down, they let go long enough to change. Thomas tossed Alex a shirt and flannel pants to borrow; he didn't want to lose sight of Alex for even a moment. They changed in silence and collapsed onto Thomas's bed together. Alex had the energy to cover them with blankets but not enough to do more than curl close to Thomas. They quickly fell asleep from their exhaustion, the tangled mass of limbs of two people who feared loss.

**Author's Note:**

> Idk if I like how this turned out.
> 
> I'm on tumblr as ixhadbadxdays.


End file.
